FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 25, 2018

USCIRF Hopes Ireland and Other Nations Will Abolish Dangerous Blasphemy Laws

WASHINGTON, DC – On October 26^th, Ireland will hold a referendum to decide whether to remove an antiquated provision from their constitution that requires blasphemy to be made a crime. Ireland is among 69 countries that currently have blasphemy laws, which range from obsolete to actively used with penalties that include death. Dr. Tenzin Dorjee, chair of the United States Commission on Religious Freedom (USCIRF), cites a recent charge of blasphemy in Spain​ as showing that even European democracies sometimes enforce these flawed laws.

“Blasphemy laws are a way for governments to deny their citizens – and particularly those of minority religions – the basic human rights to freedom of religion or belief and freedom of expression,” said Dr. Dorjee. “These are very dangerous laws and we hope that Ireland and other countries will eliminate them entirely.”

In its report measuring the world’s blasphemy laws against international human rights principles, USCIRF found that most of these laws are vaguely worded and do not require a showing of intent as an element of the crime. The five worst laws were in countries with an official state religion and protected that religion (Iran, Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia and Qatar). Eighty-six percent of the laws prescribe imprisonment as the punishment. The most severe punishments are the death penalty (in Iran and Pakistan), corporal punishment (in Sudan), and compulsory or correctional labor (in Russia and Kazakhstan).

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The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is an independent, bipartisan federal government entity established by the U.S. Congress to monitor, analyze and report on threats to religious freedom abroad. USCIRF makes foreign policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State and Congress intended to deter religious persecution and promote freedom of religion or belief. To interview a Commissioner, please contact USCIRF at [email protected] or Kellie Boyle at [email protected] or +1-703-898-6554.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 24, 2018

Vice Chair Manchin Adopts Two Religious Prisoners of Conscience

“…concrete examples of the Iranian regime’s abysmal treatment of those who seek to exercise their fundamental right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion.”


Washington, D.C.—Gayle Manchin, Vice Chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), today announced that she is adopting two prisoners in Iran, Golrokh Ebrahimi Iraee and Mohammad Ali Taheri, as part of USCIRF’s Religious Prisoners of Conscience Project.

“The cases of Golrokh Ebrahimi Iraee and Mohammad Ali Taheri demonstrate Iran’s complete disregard for human rights and its targeting of anyone who doesn’t share the state’s narrow interpretation of Islam,” said Vice Chair Manchin. “I am personally committed to highlighting their plight whenever I can, as concrete examples of the Iranian regime’s abysmal treatment of those who seek to exercise their fundamental right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion.”

Two years ago, on October 24, 2016, Iranian security forces broke into Ms. Iraee’s home to take her to the notorious Evin Prison, where she is currently incarcerated. She was convicted of insulting religion and spreading propaganda and sentenced to six years’ imprisonment, based on an unpublished story she wrote that was deemed critical of the official policy of stoning women to death for adultery.

Seven years ago this month, on October 30, 2011, Mr. Taheri was sentenced to 74 lashes, a fine, and imprisonment for, among other charges, insulting religion. A university professor and the founder of a spiritual movement, Mr. Taheri has been convicted repeatedly on various charges for his religious views and has been sentenced to death several times. He is currently serving a five-year prison term imposed in March 2018.

USCIRF has recommended that Iran be designated as a “country of particular concern” under the International Religious Freedom Act for engaging in systematic, ongoing, egregious violations of religious freedom every year since 2000. The State Department has designated Iran as such repeatedly since 1999. For more information, see USCIRF’s 2018 Annual Report chapter on Iran.   

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The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is an independent, bipartisan federal government entity established by the U.S. Congress to monitor, analyze and report on threats to religious freedom abroad. USCIRF makes foreign policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State and Congress intended to deter religious persecution and promote freedom of religion or belief.  To interview a Commissioner, please contact USCIRF at [email protected] or Kellie Boyle at [email protected] or +1-703-898-6554.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 23, 2018

Vice Chair Arriaga Expresses Concern About Patriarch Thích Quảng Độ

“I am especially concerned about Thích Quảng Độ’s wellbeing because he will turn 90 on November 27 and suffers from diabetes,” said Vice Chair Arriaga

Washington, D.C. — Kristina Arriaga, Vice Chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), today expressed serious concern about the situation of Patriarch Thích Quảng Độ, the leader of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV), for whom she advocates as part of USCIRF’s Religious Prisoners of Conscience Project.

“As the United States and Vietnam continue to move from the past toward a future of dialogue and mutual respect, the case of religious prisoners of conscience like Patriarch Thích Quảng Độ remain a harbinger for whether this progress is temporary or long-lasting,” said Vice Chair Arriaga. “Until Thích Quảng Độ is allowed to fully exercise his religious freedom, USCIRF will remain active in advocating on his behalf.”

For more than three decades, Vietnamese authorities have repeatedly targeted, harassed, and detained Thích Quảng Độ for practicing his faith and advocating for religious freedom and related human rights. He has been under effective house arrest at Thanh Minh Zen Monastery in Ho Ch Minh City since 2001, except for a brief reprieve in 2003. He reportedly was expelled from the monastery on September 15 and is thought to be in his ancestral hometown in Thai Binh Province in northern Vietnam. He has been unable to communicate with his followers and it is unclear if he has access to medical care.

“I am especially concerned about Thích Quảng Độ’s wellbeing because he will turn 90 on November 27 and suffers from diabetes,” said Vice Chair Arriaga.

USCIRF has recommended that Vietnam be designated as a “country of particular concern” under the International Religious Freedom Act for engaging in systematic, ongoing, egregious violations of religious freedom every year since 2002. For more information, see USCIRF’s 2018 Annual Report chapter on Vietnam.

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The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is an independent, bipartisan federal government entity established by the U.S. Congress to monitor, analyze and report on threats to religious freedom abroad. USCIRF makes foreign policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State and Congress intended to deter religious persecution and promote freedom of religion or belief. To interview a Commissioner, please contact USCIRF at [email protected] or Kellie Boyle at [email protected] or +1-703-898-6554.